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“Thanks,” Nico said, meaning it.“You’ve helped to clarify a few things here.”He wasn’t sure if Pederson felt the same way.He’d started this line of questioning to help explain a few things he was unsure of, but had helped Nico solidify an objective instead.
“That’s what I’m here for,” Pederson said magnanimously, and for once, Nico caught a glimpse of the man beneath the solemn façade.But he didn’t have time to explore the fact Pederson might actually have human emotions, he had a trip to plan.As well as figuring out a way to tell Lacey what he was planning on doing without her hitting the roof.
* * *
“I want to go with you.”Lacey’s green-eyed gaze fixed on him like twin jade gemstones as she slowly laid her fork on the table.They were halfway through a late dinner, and looking at Lacey’s face, Nico decided with a flash of insight that perhaps he should’ve waited to spring the news of his trip to Strahan until later.Like maybe ten minutes before he was due to leave tomorrow morning.
“I want to go with you,” she repeated.“You need me on this op.”
No, he didn’t.Which was why he was kicking himself that he’d let the words slip out.He blamed the glass of red wine and the delicious steak Lacey had cooked them for dinner—she seemed to be eating a lot more meat now she was pregnant.
“Nico, look at me,” Lacey purred, changing tack and putting on her sultry voice.Shit.It was so much harder to resist the seductive Lacey than it was the logical Lacey.“You really do need me.I think we’d work much better as a team on this one.”
It was déjà vu.Lacey’s words took Nico back to the time standing in Sandra Brown’s kitchen when he’d discovered that Sandra’s next target was walking the Overland Track and Lacey had demanded he take her on that mission too.In the end, it’d turned out to be a good decision, because Lacey had saved his life.Back then, he’d known Lacey was a headstrong, determined woman, and that hadn’t changed in the past few months.Somethinghadchanged since then, however.Because she was pregnant, although he dare not even say that out loud, let alone use it as an excuse.But it was true.And sometimes her stubbornness was a thorn in his side.Like now.She’d be safer here at home, with Linc keeping an eye on her at work and the security system keeping an eye on her at home.
Besides, he’d already decided it’d be much simpler if he went alone.He and Pederson had hashed out a plan where he’d take accommodation at the same backpackers the girls had stayed in and start his undercover investigation from there.Shadbolt had given the go-ahead for the plan, but had given Nico a stern warning to play things by the book.There could be no reports of evidence improperly obtained.He wanted this killer brought to justice as much as Nico, but they needed to do it correctly so there were no legal loopholes for the slime bag to squeeze through.But Shadbolt hadn’t given the okay for Lacey to accompany him.
He laid his own fork down and gave the half-eaten food one crestfallen glance, knowing his fine steak was going to end up cold and congealed on his plate.
“Look, Lace, I’ve talked this over with Jay, and he agrees with me.”Nico hoped that Pederson’s endorsement might lend this plan the validation he needed to get it past Lacey.“I need to go and play an undercover tourist.I’ll be in Strahan to see the sights for a few days.I’ll ask a few questions, you know, a concerned citizen that’s heard all the terrible things on the news about murdered girls and abductions.That way the locals might drop their defenses and tell me things they wouldn’t tell the cops.Gossip is rife in those small country towns, you just have to know how to get them to talk.”
“Yes, I agree.And the way to get them to talk is to have a couple of newlyweds, spending their honeymoon in town.We can tell them we’re expecting our first baby soon, and this is our last trip away before our lives change forever.It works even better than the single male theory.Everybody loves a newly married twosome besotted with each other, don’t they?”
Lacey’s comment knocked the wind out of his sails for so many reasons.That story cut so close to the truth it wasn’t funny.Apart from the fact he had yet to ask Lacey to marry him.
“Newlyweds?”he repeated dumbly.
“Yes.Why do you seem so surprised by that?It’s a great undercover story.”
“Newlyweds, expecting our first baby?”
“Yes,” she replied patiently.“Because we are expecting our first baby, that bit won’t be hard to fake.And all the women in the town will want to talk to me if they know I’m pregnant.I’ll be like a magnet, especially to the older generations.The ones who like to gossip the most.”
She had a point, but Nico still couldn’t move past the newlyweds thing.Yes, he’d been working up to asking Lacey to be his wife, but the whole pregnancy had thrown that for a loop.And now he didn’t know where he stood on it.Or where she stood on it.And pretending to be married while on an undercover op felt like he’d let her down somehow.Because maybe they should be getting married.
“You need me on this, Nico,” she said triumphantly, mistaking the look on his face for one of capitulation.
Damnit to hell.Now what was he going to do?
CHAPTER NINE
THEY STROLLED ARM in arm down the pathway, looking for all the world like the happily married newlyweds Lacey had been talking about when she’d convinced Nico to take her on this op.Perusing the few little boutique souvenir shops on the main street and enjoying the sunshine.And perhaps the reason they looked the part was that Lacey was also feeling the part.She’d eased into this role like it was made for her, even if the idea seemed to take a little getting used to for Nico.Shehadbeen going to ask him to marry her just a few days ago.But the bigger news of her pregnancy had put that on the back burner.And now they were going to have a baby together she didn’t want him to feel like he was being pushed into marriage.She wanted him towantto do it for love, for them to move forward as a couple.
Being arm in arm, happy and content, felt so natural she could almost forget the real reason they were here.To find out more about their so-called serial killer.It wasn’t a relaxing weekend away, even though that was how it felt, she needed to keep her mind on work and not romance.Lacey had won the battle of wills between her and Nico, just as she knew she would.She was right to convince him to take her along, and he knew it too, he was just a sore loser and wasn’t prepared to admit it yet.They’d had to leave Smudge under the tender care of Margie and Herb for the next few days.You couldn’t take a dog on an undercover police op.But she was sure Smudge was now fat and happy, relaxing on the couch next to Herb and chewing on the treats Margie swore she never fed him.Yesterday had been a bust when it came to finding any new information, but they’d used their time to ingratiate themselves with some of the locals, get their bearings around the town, and put weight to their story of being a couple of tourists in the area for a few days.
Nico stopped walking beside her and tapped his chest pocket where his phone normally sat.“Damn.I think I left my phone in the café.”He looked stricken.“I must’ve left it on the counter when I paid.”
“Quick, go back and see,” she told him.“I’ll wait here.”She was just starting to feel normal now, after a careful meal of toast and Vegemite—while watching Nico devour a huge plate of eggs Benedict, which almost had her dry retching—and found herself not wanting to tempt fate by rushing back up the winding street to the Coffee Shack with him.The morning sickness was still a bugbear, but at least she was learning to live with it.She made sensible food choices in the morning and didn’t rush herself.There wasn’t a lot of choices for cafés here in Strahan, especially on a Sunday morning, but Maureen, the owner of the Strahan Backpackers where they were staying, had recommended the Coffee Shack.The coffee had been good as they’d sat outside on the wooden picnic tables and enjoyed the bright morning sunshine.Thank God she could still stomach her coffee in the morning, she’d heard of women who went off that staple beverage because it made them throw up.She couldn’t even imagine how she’d cope without her morning heart-starter.
“I’ll be right back.”Nico took off on his long legs, jogging up the wide street back the way they’d come.
Lacey turned to survey the view across the road.Strahan sat on the edge of Macquarie Harbour, but this little bay at the end of the broad expanse of water sheltered the town from most of the weather.Sunlight reflected off the small wavelets, while a few wooden boats moored close to the edge of the harbor.To the left, a large industrial building perched on the brink of an even larger jetty, a sign announcing it as the headquarters of a large cruise company, running boats up the famous Gordon River.On her side of the road, the local pub sat a little farther up the hill, a big old colonial building done up to show off its glorious heritage.
Cute little town, she thought absently.If Nico didn’t already have the best cottage anyone could hope for, she might consider asking him if he wanted to move down here.Only problem was that the police station in Strahan was a two-person job, and the odds of getting a position down here were nil, at least until old Joe retired, and he still had a few years on the beat left in him yet.When she really thought about it, perhaps this town was a bit on the small side for her liking.Not enough coffee shops.
And while their accommodation at the backpackers was rustic and interesting, it certainly couldn’t be called luxurious.They had a cute little wooden A-frame cottage all to themselves, nestled on a patch of grass and encircled by tall forest on three sides.The best part of the hut was the small, covered front veranda, where they could sit in the two deck chairs and commune with the surrounding wilderness.
Maureen had been a treasure trove of information this morning when Lacey had gone into the reception office, in her undercover guise of honeymooner, ostensibly to ask about the best place to eat breakfast.Her actual plan was to ply her for the details of all of her guests over the past few weeks, to see if anyone might fit the bill of the killer.A team had already interviewed Maureen extensively, and asked the same questions Lacey was asking now.But they’d done it with a lot more aggression and a much less feminine bonding.
